So Dense
by FlatterMon
Summary: People are celebrating Dawn, but Ash is too dense to see what's going on. What happens when he is confronted with the truth about love? PearlShipping, AADL, AshxDawn, SatoshixHikari, SatoHika, ONESHOT


**A friend of mine challenged me to write a fan fiction which showed Ash's dense sides the most, so I accepted it and here's the result. Remember that this is still my 2nd ever fan fiction so remember to go easy on me!**

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It was yet another typical day in the life of pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum, except for the fact that at this very evening, he and all of his friends had been invited to dinner by Dawn's Mom, to celebrate her daughters outstanding performances at the Grand Festival.

Lying on his bed in his room at the Grand Festival facility, Ash could already feel the unfathomable hunger starting to build up, which, of course, wasn't a new feeling for this young boy. As much as he tried to hold back, his stomach kept making funny rumbling noises, prompting his roommate Brock, and his pokémon Pikachu to laugh.

"I can hear you're hungry for a change Ash!" Brock said with a sly grin on his face.

"I'm so hungry I could eat a Miltank! " Ash replied. "I really wish we could just go to that restaurant now…"

Brock looked at his friend, and reckoned that he needed a bit of cheering up. He always seemed to get so worn out when he was hungry.

"I'lll tell you what. Let me just take a quick shower, and then I think it's time to head out." The pokémon breeder said before continuing. "So if you and Pikachu can manage to pull yourselves out of bed and wait for me in the hallway, you should be sitting at the table really soon!"

Ash barely even got to hear the last of Brock's words before he grabbed Pikachu, threw him up on his shoulder, forced the door wide open and stormed out into the bright hallway.

After what seemed like an eternity in Ash's mind, Brock finally stepped outside the room, and the two of them along with the little mouse-like pokémon, made their way to the restaurant. When they arrived, they were greeted by a much larger party than they expected. It seemed that Dawn's Mom had invited pretty much everyone she could think of, including Zoey, Nando, Kenny & even Candice that gym leader.

Ash didn't really mind the many guests, he just said his hellos and then carried on, because the only thing he had on his mind was the food, and boy was he loving it.

After the company had worked their way through the many delicious dishes, and were busy stuffing their faces with chocolate cake and different kinds of ice cream, Dawn's Mom picked up her knife, raised herself from the chair and swiftly struck her glass with the sharp object, creating a sharp tone, catching the attention of everyone around the table.

"Dawn, honey. I'm so proud of everything you have accomplished these last years while traveling, and to top it all off with such a wonderful display of beauty and skill at the Grand Festival is outstanding. Therefore I stand here tonight able to these following words when thinking about your future and the challenges you will be facing: No need to worry".

After the impressive speech, everyone clapped, even Ash who felt a bit sad leaving his vanilla ice cream there on its plate, melting slowly as he banged his hands together.

Before allowing the company to once again return their attention towards the food, Dawn's Mom began to speak.

"Oh and I almost forgot that I bought you this as a "job-well-done" gift!"

Johanna reached below the large wooden table and grabbed a present, before handing it over to Dawn. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the young girl as she began to wrap it up. After much struggle Dawn finally opened the box and pulled out a magnificent dress. Before Dawn even got a chance to examine it properly, a member of the party made a weird request.

"Put it on, see if it fits." Zoey said with much joy and laughter in her voice.

Dawn happily obliged and thus ran to the restroom before coming back a few minutes later, wearing the new dress.

"Well, how do I look?" Dawn asked while spinning around, trying to show the dress from every possible angle. Although nobody really said anything, one could tell that it definitely made her look beautiful, which the many nods and stares from around the table underlined.

"Ash, what do you think?" Brock asked as he sheepishly looked at his younger friend.

Ash was caught off guard and was now the center of everyone's attention. Truth be told Ash hadn't participated a lot during all of the "dress-action", as he found it much more enjoyable to keep shoving food down his throat alongside Pikachu.

"Ehhh..." Ash looked up and saw the many faces, before staring Dawn right in the eyes. They were sparkling vividly with hope and excitement, almost begging for him to say some sort of approval of her appearance.

"You look cool Dawn." Was his response, to which he noticed a slight red color spread across the girl's face and a smile appear. The many guests soon after went back to their small talks as Dawn took her seat.

Ash, however, confused at the situation began to think about what had just happened.

"_Why did Dawn's face turn red when I said that? Is she getting a cold? _He didn't really give it that much attention, nor did he mind the weird feeling he was having in his stomach when thinking about his travelling companion, surely he had just been eating too much as usual.

Several hours later Johanna asked if people were interested in continuing the celebration in her room, as she had already prepared everything and even lined up many snacks and other kinds of treats. Although some had to decline the kind offer as they had a long day ahead of them, the majority carried on and thus made their way upstairs and into the rather large room.

Inside they found a bed along with a table and a big plate of goodies. Ash immediately went for the goodies, and stayed at that spot pretty much all evening.

Time went by and when everyone except for Dawn, Brock and Ash had finally left it was time to clean up. Brock willingly grabbed the broom and went all nuts, while Pikachu was sleeping peacefully on the bed.

Ash could feel the drowsiness beginning to take its toll on him, and so decided to go out on the balcony for some fresh air to wake him up.

He sat down on a wooden chair and gazed at the beautiful night sky in front of him. It was a full moon, and the dark sky was filled with bright shining stars, surely a night to remember.

Hearing someone force the sliding door open behind him caught his attention and he quickly turned his head around to see that it was Dawn approaching.

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" The girl asked with a slight concern in her voice, before grabbing a chair to sit on.

"I'm sleepy and ate too much, so I thought some fresh air would help. It didn't."

Dawn looked at Ash before moving her chair a bit closer to his, which made a slight noise as the legs of the chair scratched the floor. His vision met hers and he looked her straight in the eyes, feeling a kind of happiness he had never experienced before.

Ash broke the contact by looking down at the floor, much to Dawn's disappointment, which she reluctantly showed by making a faint sigh, nothing he managed to take the slightest notice of though.

"Dawn there's something I need to ask you."

She didn't manage to give a response before he carried on.

"Earlier today when you put on your dress, and Brock asked me that question I got a weird feeling in my stomach when looking at you, exactly the same feelings as when I've looked at you during contests or just sometimes when we have been traveling. Do you think I'm getting sick or am I just eating too much?"

Dawn didn't quite understand what Ash was trying to tell her, and thus couldn't help but laugh at the situation. Surely even Ash couldn't be that dense could he? After once again gaining control of her senses, she decided it was time to test if the feelings that she had been holding back for so long might be mutual.

"Ash, do you know what love is?" Dawn asked with a lit up face.

"Hmm… Is it some kind of pokémon move"

Dawn nearly fell off her chair hearing that one. She was still confident nonetheless, and so decided to carry on with her test.

"You see, when two people really like each other more than just friends, they have feelings for each other and then fall in love."

"So, does that mean that I love you?" Ash responded. He had a huge smile on his face, he was clearly enjoying the unusual situation just as much as she was.

"No stupid, it means that you have feelings for me, just as I have feelings for you. Dawn said with so much glee in her voice that it didn't sound as she was really the one who said it. Without much delay she took his hand and gently let her fingers caress his, which he seemed to like a lot.

She then pulled him out of the chair, motioning for them to walk inside, hand in hand, to which she lovingly brushed up against him and said: "We will just have to work on the loving part."

Where after his single and perhaps _densest_ response of all time was: "But I really do think love is a pokémon move!"

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**Don't forget to R&R :)**


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